She was born in Chicago, Illinois, but spent most of her adult life in other parts of the US or abroad, including numerous trips to the USSR/Russia. Dr. Carew has also been teaching in academe for over forty years, in institutions as varied as community colleges, major research universities, small liberal arts colleges, and historically black universities.

Dr. Carew met Jan Carew in 1974 at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, and they spent the next 37 years together before he passed away in December 2012.

Dr. Carew has worked with Jan Carew on previous work, including his memoirs, and collections of essays, stories and poetry. Two forthcoming collaborative publications are a new, edited collection of poetry, Return to Streets of Eternity (Smokestack Books, UK, 2015), and, volume II of Jan Carew’s memoirs: Episodes in My Life (Peepal Tree Press. UK 2015).